Whether you've gotten a gift you really don't like or you're just prone to losing receipts, returning items without a receipt can sometimes be a minefield. Here are some tips and techniques to make sure you get your money back.

This post was originally published on October 26, 2011.

Sadly, there's no one method for getting your money back every time—your experience is going to vary from store to store, and even from customer service rep to customer service rep. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself before you go, and build up a good case if they ask you for a receipt. Here's what you'll want to consider ahead of time.

Check That Store's Policy

Before doing anything else, check up on that store's return policy, so you know what you're going to face. Many stores don't actually care about having a receipt—Wal-Mart, for example, will let you get cash back for anything under $25, and store credit for anything above that—no receipt necessary. Target, on the other hand, can look up any purchase using your credit card or gift card. If you shop at stores like Costco, that require a membership, they can easily track your account's purchases. Amazon even has a policy for gift returns, which is great when you don't have the receipt yourself. Basically, don't waste time building up a case if you don't need it—check your store's policy, see if you can wrangle up whatever you need to get your money back, and head on in.

Return It As Soon As Possible

With a few exceptions, you're going to get the best results the sooner to the purchase date you try and return the item. This is especially important if the store has a policy about returning items within 90 days, or some other specified period of time. If you're after this date, however, you can try returning it without a receipt and say it was a gift—if they can't track the purchase date, then there's no way for them to know how quickly it was returned. Having it in the original packaging helps as well.

Be Nice and Stay Calm

This is super important. No matter how frustrated you are with the company, it's rarely the customer service rep's fault that you had to wait in line, or that your product was defective, or that you don't have a receipt. In most cases, they want to be there as little as you do, and you're going to make them want to help you a lot less if you're rude—and since, in many cases, you're the one trying to go against store policy, you want them to be on your side as much as possible. Being honest is also great, but be careful it doesn't hurt your chances of returning the item—if you knew the item was non-refundable and say so, you're probably going to have a harder time convincing them. But letting them know you lost the receipt can be okay, if you back it up with other evidence (see below).

Bring In Other Evidence

The old "it was a gift" line only works so often. You can try it, but if it doesn't work, try again with some other evidence of your purchase (at another store or with a different representative). That means at the very least bring the credit card you used to purchase the item, or (even better) a bank statement that shows the purchase on a specific date. It won't always work, but it's good to come into the store as prepared as possible (and this method obviously doesn't work with something that actually was a gift). The more information you can give them that might help them look up the purchase in their records, the better. Photo by Dave Dugdale.

Show That You're a Regular, Loyal Customer

If it's a smaller store that you shop regularly, you have a much better chance of returning the item. Build a relationship with the people that work there. If that's not an option, you can always provide evidence of your loyalty. Weblog Bukisa provides a great example:

Be charming, but authoritative (You must know what your are talking about). Real Life Example: "Good afternoon, I'd like to interest you in my problem. My wife and I received these Tiffany candlesticks on our 5th anniversary. As I was lighting them yesterday evening for our 7th anniversary dinner, the top of the crystal stick cracked clear of the base on one of them. Obviously there was a weak point in the crystal. My wife is quite heartbroken. She loved these so much that every time there is a wedding in the family she presents the couple with the same candlesticks—why, I'm sure Tiffany has a record of such things and can see how many candlesticks and other items we have purchased over the years. In fact. all out baby gifts are from Tiffany as well. Can you possibly replace it? I am sure the factory will want to examine this one."

The other thing you can really do to help here is exchange it for something at the same store, or at least be buying something else while you're returning that item. Even if they're completely unrelated—say, you're returning a computer keyboard but buying a few DVDs—it'll show that you're a regular customer at the store and you're not trying to pull a fast one.

Don't Take No for an Answer—Especially If It's Defective

All this assumes you're just returning an item because you don't want it anymore. If the item is defective, there are actually laws in place to protect you from faulty goods. These laws vary from state to state and country to country, so you'll have to look up the laws for your specific area. Consumer web site Which runs down some of the caveats to these laws in the UK:

If you buy a product that turns out to be faulty, you can choose to 'reject' it: give it back and get your money back. However, the law gives you only a 'reasonable' time to do this—what is reasonable depends on the product and how obvious the fault is. However, even with something like a car, you usually have no more than three to four weeks from when you receive it to reject it.

Most states in the US should follow very similar laws, but it differs from place to place. The bottom line is that if an item is defective, you have a much better chance of getting a refund, so be very firm when returning a defective item—even if it's been awhile. While the official grace period may be short, you can often persuade some people to honor much longer agreements. Bukisa gives another great example:

Most stores will simply return the faulty product back to the manufacturer. If it is the store's own brand, liken the product to a superior brand, but show dismay that the quality is not the same. "I absolutely love these pillow cases, the cotton is almost as soft as that of my (other similar manufacturer), but I am extremely dismayed that the cotton, while soft, is of such poor quality that the cloth has started to shred, and even develop holes after washing. These are only 2 years old! I've had (other manufacturer's) bed linens for over 10 years. and I would expect (Name of Manufacturer) to be of the same quality and standard. Surely (the manufacturer) will want these back in order to solve the problem."

The longer you wait, the more of a long shot it is, but you have nothing to lose if the item becomes defective after a year or two and it's something that's supposed to last you a long time. Photo by Paul Hussey.

Realize That Store Credit Is Often As Good As It Gets

Pick your battles. If you can get the store to offer you store credit, you've probably won that battle. You won't be able to make every store give you cash back, or refund your credit card, but a willingness to compromise can get you pretty far. Whether it's store credit, exchanging the item right then and there, or (if it's defective) getting a repair or replacement, you'll be getting more of your money's worth with a compromise than you would just keeping the unwanted item. Photo by Diaper.

Last-Ditch Effort: Wait Until the Holidays

I stress this at the end because, in general, you want to try returning an item as soon as possible for the best result (especially if it's defective). However, if you don't have any luck, see if you can wait until after a holiday season. If it's a more timeless item (that is, something that was not obviously sold earlier in the year), the end of December is a great time to return items, even if they weren't Christmas gifts. You may have to stand in line a bit longer, but since so many people are returning gifts at that time, stores tend to be a lot more lenient with their return policies. Only use this as a last-ditch effort, though; you'll want to at least try the above tricks as soon as possible before you wait 6 months for the holidays to roll around.

Of course, your mileage may vary with all of these tips—every store's policy is different, and you could even get different results depending on the customer service rep you speak to. In the end, the best thing you can do is save your receipts for things when you buy them, at least until you know they work the way you want them to. When it comes to gifts, life's a bit harder, but rarely will you have to suffer through keeping the item—especially once the holidays roll around.

Got your own tips for returning items without a receipt! Please share them with us in the comments!

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